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Part RefineShape

From FreeCAD Documentation

Part RefineShape

Menu location
Part → Copy → Refine Shape
Workbenches
Part
Default shortcut
None
Introduced in version
-
See also
None

Description[edit | edit source]

The Part RefineShape command creates parametric copies with a refined shape from selected objects. It removes unnecessary edges from planar and cylindrical faces.

Original with 11 faces (left), and refined copy with 7 faces (right).

Usage[edit | edit source]

  1. Select one or more objects.
  2. Select the Part → Copy → Refine Shape option from the menu.
  3. For each object a cleaned, parametric copy is created
  4. The original objects are hidden.

Notes[edit | edit source]

  • Many Part objects and PartDesign features have a DataRefine property. Setting that property to true is preferable over using this command as it avoids an extra object.
  • By default this command creates parametric copies. There is a fine-tuning parameter to change this to non-parametric copies.
  • This command can be used after converting a mesh to a shape.
  • Refining an object may prevent 3D printers from printing unwanted edges once the object is exported to a mesh format.
  • Some interesting information about what is happening with placement and how to access by Python can be found in this forum post.

Properties[edit | edit source]

See also: Property View.

A Part RefineShape object is derived from a Part Feature object and inherits all its properties. It also has the following additional property:

Data[edit | edit source]

Refine

  • DataSource (Link): specifies the linked source shape.

Scripting[edit | edit source]

The Python command for refining a shape is the following:

shape.removeSplitter()